HOW TO But that’s the maximum temperature – the point at which your processor freaks out and shuts down to avoid damage. Running anywhere near that hot regularly is bad for the long-term life of your hardware. Instead, follow this general rule of thumb regarding CPU temperatures under load. Under 60°C: You’re running great. 60- to 70°C: Still running fine, but getting a bit warmer. Consider cleaning the dust out of your PC if CPU temperatures continue to creep up over time. 70- to 80°C: This is hotter than you want to run unless you’re pushing an overclock. If you’re not, definitely check to make sure your fans are working and there aren’t dust bunnies clogging up your system’s airflow. 80- to 90° C: Now we’re getting too hot for long-term comfort. Check your hardware for broken fans or dust build-up, and if you’re overclocking, dial back your settings – especially the voltage if you’ve tweaked it. One notable exception: We sometimes see more powerful laptop processors hit the low 80s during gaming sessions when plugged in, at which point they start throttling back performance. This is expected, but if temperatures cross 85° C, be concerned. Over 90°C: Danger, Will Robinson. How to lower your CPU temperatures If you’re regularly encountering high CPU temperatures, there are some steps you can take to try and fix the issue. First, clean out your PC. High CPU temperatures are often caused by years of dust and grime built up inside a PC, clogging fans and crucial 108 TECH ADVISOR • MAY 2018 Worldmags.net

HOW TO air pathways. You can pick up a bottle for around £8 from fave.co/2BYSy3I. While you’re at it, check to make sure all your fans are working, and that none of the vents in your PC are blocked. Hopefully that fixes the issue. If not, more intensive steps are in order. The thermal paste that transfers heat from your CPU to its cooler might have dried out if you’ve had your PC for a few years. That can cause temperature spikes. Removing the old thermal paste with rubbing alcohol and a applying fresh layer can potentially help lower temperatures by a large amount. You can find small syringes of thermal paste by respected brands such as Arctic (£3.95 from fave.co/2Brl2SB) and Noctua (£6.95 from fave.co/2BZUOYD) online. If all that doesn’t help, your cooling solution simply might not be capable of keeping up with your CPU’s heat output, especially if you’re pairing a stock cooler or a modest third-party cooler with higher-end chips – and doubly so if you’re overclocking. Buying a new CPU cooler may be in order. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 (£27.99 from fave.co/2BYeprN) is a solid, affordable air cooler. With its larger heatsink and fan, it’s a solid step up over stock AMD and Intel CPU Cooler Master Hyper 212 Worldmags.net MAY 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 109